CAMERA Prompts New York Times Correction on Annapolis Talks

In a Nov. 29 News Analysis piece about American involvement in the Middle East peace process, New York Times reporter Helene Cooper wrongly claimed that President Bush “explicitly took on” the issue of Palestinian refugees, and sided with Israel on the topic, during his speech in Annapolis the previous day. In fact, Bush did not mention refugees during his speech.

After CAMERA alerted the Times Foreign Desk to the error, the newspaper published the following correction:

Error (New York Times, Helene Cooper, news analysis, 11/29/07): Mr. Bush’s speech … was notable in that he explicitly took on only one of the core issues, the fate of Palestinian refugees, and, on that issue, sided with Israel.

Correction (12/14/07): A news analysis article on Nov. 29 about the diplomatic style of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, including her handling of the Middle East, referred incorrectly to President Bush’s position on the fate of Palestinian refugees in his remarks on Nov. 27 at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md. While Mr. Bush called Israel “a homeland for the Jewish people,” this was an implicit support for Israel’s view that Palestinians should not be guaranteed a right of return to their former homes inside Israel. Mr. Bush did not “explicitly” take on that issue and side with Israel.

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